1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-contact terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
A known multi-contact terminal for large current in an electric vehicle or the like is capable of suppressing the amount of heat generation by being held in contact at a multitude of contact points and reducing contact resistance. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-164486 is an example of such a known multi-contact terminal. This terminal is formed such that plural resilient contact pieces are brought into contact with a male tab in the form of a flat plate. The resilient contact pieces are provided to face each other and extend forward in a cantilever manner from the front end edges of a ceiling plate and a bottom plate of a base portion having a flat rectangular tube shape. These resilient contact pieces are protected by being covered by a separate cover.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-227090 is another known example of the multi-contact terminal. This terminal is formed such that plural resilient contact pieces are brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of a round pin in the form of a bar having a circular cross-section. The resilient contact pieces are provided to extend forward in a cantilever manner from the front end edge of a cylindrical tube portion.
In the multi-contact terminal of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-164486 described above, the male tab and the resilient contact pieces are held in line contact. Thus, if the male tab is inserted between the facing resilient contact pieces in a posture inclined from a proper connection posture, the male tab locally is pressed strongly against the resilient contact pieces and, conversely, the male tab and the resilient contact pieces partly experience contact failures. Further, strong local pressing of the male tab against the resilient contact pieces, as just described, easily can peel platings off the resilient contact pieces by abrasion and can impair durability.
On the other hand, in the multi-contact terminal for round pin shown in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-227090, the plurality of resilient contact pieces are shaped in conformity with the outer peripheral surface of the round pin. Since these resilient contact pieces are produced by forming slits in a cylindrical member and performing drawing, there is a problem of being difficult to improve dimensional accuracy and difficult to produce.
Further, in both multi-contact terminals, if a cover for protecting the resilient contact pieces is provided, the number of components increases and the structure becomes complicated, thereby presenting a problem of making an assembling operation cumbersome.
The present invention was completed based on the above situation and aims to provide a multi-contact terminal configured to bring a plurality of resilient contact pieces into contact with a mating terminal, wherein the multi-contact terminal has a small number of components, a simple configuration, an easy production, having a plating that is difficult to peel off a surface and excellent durability.